This invention relates to a chair and more particularly to a chair or grouping thereof, especially suitable for use in an incarceration facility.
It is desirable that furniture have durability. It is also desirable that furniture be suited for the purpose desired as well as aesthetically pleasing. An especially difficult situation is to develop furniture suitable for use in incarceration facilities or correctional facilities.
Other locations requiring a durable, aesthetically pleasing chair are clear. Any location having a heavy concentration of people requires a durable, aesthetically pleasing chair. Other such locations are typified by a college lounge, a hospital, and an airport lounge. So it is clear for the purposes herein that a reference to an correctional facility can include other sites.
Furniture for incarceration facilities or correctional facilities has special requirements. This location almost definitely precludes the use of foam or upholstery to achieve the comfort. Among other reasons to avoid use upholstery or foam, a main reason. Among the other defined reasons to avoid use of upholstery or foam in prison furniture, an additional reason is to provide an easily cleaned piece of furniture.
Durability and suitability as well as comfort, aesthetical and ergonomical utility are required. It is difficult to achieve proper aesthetics and ergonomics or comfort, when the primary goal is durability and suitability.
For example, any furniture must lack a place of concealment. Typically, an inmate will try to conceal a drug, a weapon or other contraband in furniture. An inmate may also try to make a weapon from a part of the furniture. The structure of the furniture must avoid all of these problems.
Additionally, mobility or ease of correctional facility furniture movement is required. This mobility, however, must be combined with the ability to fix the piece of furniture in place. It is best desired to have incarceration furniture mobile, but capable of being made immobile in a relatively simple fashion.
Clearly, furniture used in incarceration facilities must be durable with a long life cycle, in order to survive the heavy use received therein. It must also be easily cleaned.
If the durability, can be combined with aesthetically pleasing characteristics, certain psychological advantages can be obtained. For one, the aesthetic pleasure with corresponding comfort can reduce the mental strain on both the prisoners and the staff. This factor can inherently result in a safer environment.
These factors are especially required for a chair to be used in a correctional facility. Another factor useful for a correctional facility chair is the ability of the chair to be joined to another chair. If this can be accomplished, the chair can serve a number of different functions. It is also especially useful, if the chair can be made difficult to lift or move. Also a removable part of the furniture must be avoided. Such limitations keep the chair or a part thereof from becoming a weapon in the event of a riot or other undesired occurrence.
Other requirements of incarceration facility furniture include causing an inmate great difficulty in a making a weapon from a piece of furniture. For example, if a chair can be easily lifted, it can be used as a weapon. Such action is definitely undesirable, to say the least.
Thus, it may be seen that there are a number of conflicting design requirements when incarceration facility furniture is considered. To maximize the advantages of these conflicting requirements can create a major problem.